NEITHER / EITHER / BOTH (4)

Good morning everyone and happy Friday to you.

This week we have been looking at how to use the words neither / either / both. We have seen that they can refer to two things of the same category (neither book, either book, both books).

Today we will look at these words when we talk about two things which belong to different categories.

Neither...nor / Either...or / Both...and
⇒ They are used to refer to two things which belong to different categories.
⇒ They can be used with different word forms, such as nouns, verbs or adjectives.

Examples:
⇒ Neither alcohol nor caffeine is/are* recommended by the doctor (= Alcohol is not recommended and caffeine is not recommended. )
⇒ You neither listen to me nor help me at home. (= You don't listen and you don't help.)
⇒ You can either go to the gym or go to the swimming pool. (= You have two options, going to the gym or going to the pool.)
⇒ Both fruit and vegetables are* sold at the market. (= Fruit is sold and vegetables are sold.)
⇒ He is Both handsome and charming. (= He's handsome and charming.)

* In general, the agreement between the noun and verb form will depend on the sentence. However, you can use either singular or plural verb forms with neither...nor. It doesn't matter. You must use plural verbs with both...and.

This concludes our brief week-long review of neither, either and both. I hope we have answered your question satisfactorily, Montse.

Remember to practice! One option is to write 1 to 3 sentences with these three words, similar to the examples I've included today, or on other days. Please post your sentences to one of our social media sites (Facebook or Bluesky) and we will give you feedback about your writing ASAP.

I hope you have a good day and an excellent weekend!

All the best!